Their Loss
by sKetchdiva
Summary: “Yea, everything's good.” Duncan's eyes locked on to Courtney's chest, almost unconsciously, and he smirked sexily with a devious glint in his eye. “Everything is nice and big.”


**Hellloooo, everybody!**

**sKetchdiva is BACK.**

**But I never went anywhere...**

**Anyways, sKetchdiva is such a mouthful. Just start calling me Kay. :P**

**Moving on...here's a brand new story for y'all! I'd just like to say that I DO NOT own any TDI characters, just Sheri, Will, Dana, Derek, Kyle, Aiden...and all the other's I'll probably think up later.**

**My other stories: I really have no idea. I can't continue DCTI until I have access to the whole next episode (Million Dollar Babies). I normally WOULD be able to, except my mom blocked Youtube from my little brother, so essentially it's blocked from me, too. [sob, sob, boohoo] And I don't know why the damn thing just won't record on our Tivo! GRRR, it's frustrating. As for ATDOS, I think I'm just going to be deleting that one. I can't see it really going anywhere, and there's already one published with the same concept but it's actually _good _and _worth reading_, so say bye-bye. "He's No Bad Boy, He's My, Okay, He's My Bad Boy"...is tricky. People are complaining that I haven't updated in FOREVER (seriously, I don't blame you, guys! I'm pissed at me, too!) but I just can't think of what to write next. Also, I wanted to impliment my new writing style, but how can I do that to the rest of the story without completely changing it? I have no clue...so advice would be nice. :D**

**Ooh, one more thing. **edwardandbella4evah **is going to be helping me write this fanfic, so I just wanna give her credit in advance!**

**Without further ado, here's "Their Loss!" ENJOY.**

* * *

"We'll be back on Saturday, Duncan." Sheri Michaels looked from her son to her daughter, her stern look changing to a bright, chipper smile. "Now you be good for Duncan, Dana. He'll be giving us a report on your behavior when we get back – I don't want to hear that you were causing him trouble."

Dana nodded with a grin, her pigtails bobbing around.

Duncan slouched, crossing his arms. "C'mon, why do _I_ have to watch her? Can't you get the hippie neighbor from next door to come over?" He despised that he was the only brother his parents would trust. It made him sick thinking he was the only older sibling _responsible _enough to take care of Dana. What made him even more sick was the pathetic, goody-two-shoes look she was giving their parents. It just _screamed, _"I'm such a perfect little angel who does nothing wrong and who never will."

"_Duncan,_" his father, William Michaels, growled from behind him. He threw a suitcase into the trunk of his Toyota and gave Duncan an _I'll Kick Your Ass _glare. Jabbing a finger at Duncan, he said, "We'll also be getting reports from _Dana _about _your _behavior. That means no drinking, no smoking, no inviting friends over, and no games that involve locking Dana in the closet so you can have quiet time with a girl."

Duncan let out a defeated groan, throwing his head back. "_Damn it._"

Mr. Michaels plopped into the driver's seat and slammed the door. "Saturday." He pointed from his eyes to Duncan's, nodding stiffly before slowly rolling down the driveway.  
"Bye, hon!" Mrs. Michaels cranked down her window and waved to Dana as the car disappeared down the street, Dana turning to Duncan all angel-like. He glowered.

"Well," she said primly, "we better get started on our chores. Though they won't be back for seventy-two hours, I want us to act as though they'll be home any minute, keeping things spotless."

Snorting, Duncan rolled his eyes lazily at his sister. He shoved his hands in his pockets and started for the front door. "Since when do eight-year-olds care about cleanliness?"

Dana shrugged, following him and locking the door when they were both in the foyer. "I enjoy everything when it is neat and peaceful."

Duncan grabbed a Playboy from under the couch – which Dana gawked at – and sprawled out on the leather, his shoes landing on throw pillows. "Neat and peaceful my ass," he muttered, flipping to the page that folded out.

Dana snatched it from him, a hand on her hip.

"_Hey._"

She gripped the edges and ripped it right down the middle, giving him a triumphant lift of her chin.

"_Noooo._" Duncan collapsed onto his knees in mock-horror, tossing up his hands. "Whyyyy?!"

"You can see Miss April next year." Dana turned and tossed the shredded magazine into the fireplace, which Duncan cocked his head at. He hadn't realized it'd been burning. "Right _now, _you're going to wipe down the kitchen table while I clean these marks off the walls." She gestured to many dark scuffs on the blue paint. "Derek and Kyle were here on Wednesday…" She shuddered, bringing up their older brothers, who were even more terrible – though Duncan hated to think it – than Duncan was.

Duncan shuffled over to the long, maple table by the sliding-glass door, staring at it dumbly. "What do I wipe it with?"

"A wet paper towel," Dana replied as she scrubbed at the walls with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, annoyed that he didn't already know.

Duncan ducked into the kitchen, pretending to be in search of a paper towel. Instead, he crouched down and reached under the dishwasher – his secret hiding place for years, even if he didn't live there anymore. He actually had a wad of cash hidden there, probably a thousand dollars. He hoped and prayed that the dishwasher wouldn't break down and a repair guy wouldn't find the money. His hands grazed across glossy paper, and Duncan pulled out another Playboy. "Hello, Miss May," he purred.

* * *

About a half hour later, Dana stomped in and gaped. "What have you been doing this whole time?" she demanded.

Duncan motioned to the magazine blankly. "Staring at naked chicks."

"Come on!" She stamped her foot. "I've already cleaned the walls! You haven't even _started _the table yet." He was about to come up with some lame excuse when Dana cut him off, ripping the porn from his hand. "Never mind. Look, Aiden Castillo invited me to his ninth birthday party three weeks ago, and I already have the perfect gift picked out and wrapped in my room." She raised her brows at him. "And I kinda need a ride."

"Take the bus," Duncan responded absently, pulling out his cell phone from a pocket and beginning to tap on the keyboard. "Be cute. They'll let you ride for free."

Dana's eyes got round and innocent. "But you _know _Mom doesn't want me ever riding the bus." She reminded Duncan of the look on that deer's face the time he hit one speeding on the highway.

Duncan rolled his eyes again. "Jeez, Dana, Mom and Dad haven't been gone an hour and you're already trying to cast your pretty little spell on me?" He got up from the floor and gave her a noogie, heading around the corner for the stairs. "No way. See ya."

"Where are you going?" she asked incredulously. "I'll call Mom and Dad."

Duncan leaned over the railing, looking faux concerned, a finger at his lips. "Oh, gosh, you're right. But, _oops_,I disconnected the phone before they left!" Dana glanced at the phone on the end table by the TV as he chuckled sinisterly. Sure enough, the cable connecting to the wall was gone.

"You're evil," she whined.

He nodded in agreement before tramping the rest of the way up the staircase. It wasn't ten minutes later when Dana started complaining, banging on his old bedroom door. He looked up from another issue of Playboy, pulling his pants back up before she could barge in. "Go away." He had _tons _hidden _everywhere._

"_Duncan._" She started yanking on the door handle. She gave up after a few seconds, sighing. "Fine, I'll walk to Aiden's house. It's only about, ooh, ten miles from here. You can text Mom later and tell her how you told me to walk there."

Duncan heard her stroll down the hallway, open and close her bedroom door, and start down the stairs again. _Fine, let her go, _he thought, whipping his magazine straight. Then he bit his lip, and with a grunt of annoyance, sprinted down to the porch, where he caught Dana by the arm. "I'll drive you to your damn party."

"Good." Dana smiled, wickedly pleased. She knew she'd get what she wanted. "And just to make this better for you," she said as they walked to Duncan's red Honda, "Aiden has a _really _cute sister."

Duncan scoffed, sitting down in the front as Dana shuffled into the back. "Is she, what, twelve?"

"She's twenty, actually."

Tilting his head, he thought of the many possibilities. "What does she look like?" For some reason when he imagined her, he thought of his sexy coworker, Lindsay, who sat slumped on a loveseat in the corner of the room all day with her legs spread, oblivious to all the guys staring up her skirt. "What?" she would ask, taking a lollipop out of her mouth to bend forward. "Is there a bug?"

"Well," Dana began, snapping Duncan out of his horny thought. "She has chocolately brown hair, tan skin, maybe some freckles..."

"What about her rack?"

"Pardon?"

"Her _boobs_, Dana," Duncan said in an _uh-duh _voice as he drove out of the neighborhood. "How big are her _boobs_?"

"I..." Dana narrowed her eyes at him in the rear-view mirror. "How should I know? I don't pointedly stare at women's chests, as do you, quite obviously, by the way."

Duncan smirked. "Hey, know-it-all, where is this party, anyway?"

Reading the address off the frilly-looking invite, she instructed him where to go, not caring that she was being a "back-seat-driver."

"What'd you get this freakball, anyway?" Duncan scanned the invitation after they pulled up to Aiden Castillo's house. _This kid is definitely gonna be gay._

Dana ripped it from his hands. "He's not a freakball!" The tiniest flush settled in her cheeks, and Duncan smirked.

"Oh, I see what's goin' on."

"What?" she asked quickly.

"You _like _him!" Duncan grinned and punched her in the arm lightly. "Dana's got a boyfriend, Dana's got a boyfriend!" he sang.

"You're so immature," she hissed, tearing out of the car with her present and slamming the door. "I do _not._"

Duncan got out and shut his door, too. "Yes you do." He pointed lazily to her face. "You blushed. You're so totally hot for this spaz."

"Shut up!" She kicked him in the shin and stormed toward the house, Duncan laughing his head off behind her. He jogged up and stood by her side, still chuckling. "You don't have to come in," she insisted. "Just wait in the car and Twitter or something."

"And miss this? Nah. This'll be priceless."

Dana groaned. "Oh, God." She glanced at him warily while they waited for the door to open. "You're gonna scare everybody with your leather clothes, piercings and mohawk. Seriously, did you even look in the _mirror _while you were doing your hair? It looks like a big, fugly green blob."

Duncan glared at her icily, jabbing the doorbell twice. "Thanks. And you look _so great _with your..." He glanced down at her purple, appropriate-looking dress and neat, long pigtails. "Nevermind," he mumbled, stabbing the doorbell a few more times.

"I said _I'm coming!_" called an impatient voice from inside. When the door whipped open, a hot chick stood in the doorway, grinning at Dana. "Hi! Welcome to the party! I _love _your dress!"

Dana handed the chick the little freak's present. "Thank you, Miss C! And I _love _your skirt!"

"Really?" The chick jutted one hip, looking down at herself. "Thanks! Got it at Old Navy." Her gaze moved up to Duncan, who was standing on the porch awkwardly as they had their girlie chit-chat, and she narrowed her eyes. "And you are?"

He cleared his throat, uncharacteristically unable to find something to say. She was just...beautiful. Hot didn't even begin to describe it. Her hair, full of body, cascaded in thick waves down to her shoulders, a lock or two fallen in front of her eyes. And she had the most luscious curves. Duncan couldn't help that his mind was already picturing her in one of his Playboys.

The chick was still staring expectantly at Duncan, motioning for him to say something.

"I'm, uh, Dana's brother," he managed finally, tugging on his earlobe. "Our parents are out of town, so, y'know, I've gotta watch her."

"Uh-huh." She leaned one arm against the door, staring him down with big, onyx eyes. Was she not going to let him inside?

"Um..." He looked past her into the house. "I'm Duncan." Holding his hand out didn't make her any more friendly toward him.

She nodded once, ignoring his offer for a handshake. "Courtney."

Duncan probed her body again. Never had a girl made him this uncomfortable. Suddenly, he wished he'd gone to Supercuts like his last girlfriend had suggested and gotten the mohawk chopped down. He also wished he'd worn normal jeans and a T-shirt. Right now, he looked too badass to be hanging around kids all day. Everyone would probably think he was corrupting them.

Courtney kept glaring at him, rather frostily, he thought. He didn't do anything to her, besides showing up at her front door and expecting to be let inside.

"You're hot," he blurted out. A confident smirk slithered across his face when Courtney looked shocked and disgusted.

"Pig," she snarled, starting to close the door.

Duncan stuck a foot between it and the frame, stopping her. "My sister's in there. Am I not allowed to keep an eye on her?" Now it didn't seem all that bad, having brought Dana to this party. At least he could antagonize the hostess while he was here. But while he stepped inside the house and whistled at its fancy-looking interior, he hoped she didn't have a huge-assed boyfriend skulking around.

Courtney grimaced, following him through the hallway.

"So..." Duncan clapped once as a group of kids in party hats ran by, glancing around at all the decorations. "You really went all out, huh?"

She poked a balloon in a bunch by what looked like a bathroom. "Yeah. I thought my brother could really use a pick-me-up. He's sort of been depressed for the past few months."

"Why?" Duncan found himself asking, and he was surprised by the honesty he felt. Normally he wouldn't care less about a girl's life if it didn't have anything to do with her taking off her clothes, like being a stripper or a Victoria's Secret model.

Courtney sighed, searching his face unsurely, almost as if she was wondering whether or not to talk to the Neanderthal standing in front of her. "Oh...well–"

"Hey, Courtney!" Duncan turned and saw a tall, blond, goofy-looking guy in a pink button-down bound over. He wrapped an arm around Courtney, giving her a big bear hug. "How's my favorite step-sis?" He looked to Duncan and frowned. "Everything okay?" he asked carefully, obviously referring to the delinquent.

"Sure, Geoff," Courtney said, smiling at him thankfully, like she hadn't wanted to talk to Duncan.

"Yea, everything's good." Duncan's eyes locked on to Courtney's chest, almost unconsciously, and he smirked sexily, a devious glint in his eye. "Everything is nice and _big._"

Courtney gasped, appalled, and Geoff's hand clamped onto Duncan's arm, dragging him across the room. "Hey, I meant the _house_!" Duncan lied, not taking his eyes off Courtney as he was pulled away.

"Dude, what the hell is your problem?" Geoff hissed in a hush-hush tone, so some kids playing at a Lego table nearby wouldn't stare at them.

Duncan wrenched his arm away. "Hey, let go. I just haven't gotten eye-candy in a while, that's all." He felt wrong about taking advantage of the fact that he had eyes, though. Some part of him wanted to act like a total jackass – like he wasn't already – and ask her right then and there if she wanted to go home with him. Another part – another really _werid_, _unusual _part – wanted to just...talk to her.

"Man, I know I don't know you," Geoff said, resting his hands at his waist, "but I'm tellin' you not to mess with her. Back the hell off. She doesn't need to deal with a horny guy right now."

Out of the corner of his eye, Duncan could see Dana talking to a boy about her age, which he presumed was that Aiden freak. He actually looked a lot like Courtney...but she looked _way _too old to be his sister. He had a hankering suspicion that maybe, just maybe, she could be his mom. Duncan blinked, staring dumbly at Geoff. "Is Courtney really the sister?" he blurted.

"She hasn't–" Geoff cut off, squinting at Duncan in semi-frustration. "Well, _duh, _of course."

"She just looks way too old," Duncan purred, eyeing her up and down once again. "Damn, she's fine."

"_Dude._" Geoff kneaded his forehead, grunting, "That's my _step-sister. _Okay, yea, she's cute, I get it_._" At the sound of happy cries, his head snapped up, and he went from tense to gooey, slouching a bit and smiling goofily.

Duncan waved a hand in front of his face and stared at him for a second in bewilderment, almost like he'd been put under a spell. But when he followed his gaze to a chick in a blue, lacy shirt and flared jeans with a long, flowing blonde ponytail, Duncan understood. He gave Geoff a few playful nudges and a smirk. "Hey. She's hot. Go talk to her, man."

Geoff blinked a few times. "Bridgette _Fields_? Uh-uh. No way, dude. She's like…ungettable."

Bridgette sat down at a tiny table with a young partygoer, happily sipping pretend tea and acting like a princess.

"She's so good with little kids," Geoff swooned, nearly falling head-over-heels.

Duncan gave Geoff a good shove toward the tea party. "Get your ass over there, lover boy, before she hooks up that clown." Duncan gestured to a pretty-boy-type guy hanging out by the front door with the swirly brown hair every girl out there loved.

Geoff's eyes were wide, focused on his competition. "Oh shit, you're right." He took a deep breath and cracked his knuckles. "It's now or never," he breathed seriously.

Duncan shrugged, reaching around and grabbing a soda off marble the counter. "That's the spirit." He watched as Geoff made a beeline for that Bridgette girl, and he sauntered around the corner into the kitchen, checking the fridge for beer. He pushed aside a container of Jell-O, frowning at a bag of salad.

"Looking for something?"

Duncan hit his head on a cold shelf, whipping his head out of the fridge.

Courtney drummed her fingers on her arm, clearly pissed. "Or are you just rummaging for anything you can find, like a rat?"

He didn't really know how to respond to that, so he simply shrugged, popping the top of his Coke and taking a sugary swig. "Not sure."

Aiden came up and tapped Courtney's shirt then, Dana trailing behind and giving Duncan a death-glare. He shook his head innocently, mouthing, _Do they have any beer?_

"Courtney, Courtney, can we have cake now?" Aiden was asking frantically, bouncing around.

"Does the spaz really need any more sugar?" Duncan said in a casual tone, taking another sip from his can.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself, Ogre." Courtney glared menacingly at him, ushering Aiden away. She stopped to say, "Or you'll find your sorry ass upside-down in my dumpster," in Duncan's ear before leading the birthday boy to the table.

Duncan leaned back on his heel, running his tongue over his teeth. Was that a threat? It seemed so lethal and vicious, yet…so hot at the same time. Duncan was so turned on right now…he couldn't even comprehend it.

Dana stomped up next to him as he sifted through a whoa-why-do-I-feel-this-way? fog. "You ruin everything," she mumbled, folding her arms tightly. "You should've just stayed in the car to read your tweets. Aiden keeps asking me if you're an axe murderer."

"Ha!" Duncan barked out a laugh, tossing his can in the garbage, which Dana retrieved a moment later to drop into the recycling. "An axe murderer, huh?" He considered that for a second. "Guess that'd be cool."

"But seriously." Dana looked around at everyone. "Lots of the kids are scared of you." Her eyes landed on Geoff and she smiled. "Ooh, but it looks like Geoffie's finally talking to Bridgette."

"'Geoffie?'"

Dana ignored him. "Bridgette's Courtney's best friend, but Geoff's never built up enough courage to talk to her. Until now, I suppose. Wonder what made him change his mind…"

Glancing away slyly, Duncan hid, _Me, it was me _in a cough.

"Smooth," Dana commented, catching it, and also motioning toward the door. "Can you please go now?"

"Why? Wanna mack on Aiden without me witnessing?"

Dana's whole face lit up bright red. "No!"

"Um…Duncan?" Courtney called hesitantly from the dining area, waving him over.

He exchanged a skeptical look with Dana before heading that way. "Yea. Wassup?"

"I really hate to bother you because you're clearly _so busy _drinking all of my soda," Courtney simpered. "But Geoff is a little preoccupied, so I require a hand bringing in Aiden's cake from my car."

Duncan frowned. "God gave you feet. God gave you hands." He made no effort to move.

She stared at him in disbelief. "You are the rudest, crudest, most rebellious person I have ever met. And I don't need to witness what goes on on the streets to know that you don't play by the rules."

"Babe." He stepped back and spread his arms. "You get what you pay for."

She made a horrified face. "Did you just suggest what I think you just suggested?"

He set an elbow on the counter, chin resting in his hand as he smirked cockily. "Only if you want me to be suggesting it."

Courtney smacked him right across the cheek, the _slap _echoing through the house, everyone becoming quiet for a beat. He watched her storm out the door and to her car, which was perched on the edge of the sidewalk like a white mountain.

Teasing her was too much fun.


End file.
